Menu

First Pairing

I have been doing this for many years and bring a different look to Maine. That look is in pairing food and wine as a teacher and professional in the wine business. There are food columns galore, a wine column, and nothing that does both. Let’s start at the beginning.

As a student at San Francisco State University in the 70’s I got bitten by the wine bug, met the greats in the biz and tasted the legendary wines of the era. Being an adventurous person, I moved to Oregon in the late 70’s, worked for a winery (there were six), met the gurus, tasted more wines and taught food and wine pairing classes at the Portland Culinary Institute. Through it all, I have collected books (lots of books) on the subject. In the 80’s I imported wines from Europe (this is what you do when the dollar is roaring). The people I met and the wine regions visited will be sprinkled throughout.

In the 90’s I taught wine classes at the University of Virginia, ran a winery and wrote weekly columns for the Richmond Times Dispatch. Whew! Lots of stuff. Enough of that… more bio in the future. I married a Mainer (my wonderful wife), and have lived in Portland for eight years.

Food and Wine Pairings: the Lobster. The lobster falls in the “Quality food and wine category”. To meet the flavor of the lobster headlong you need to bag the pinot grigio, get rid if the prosecco for the evening and head directly on to as much wine flavor as you care to spend. Here’s your tasting:

Beringer California Chardonnay, $6.00. You will get good medium chardonnay flavor that will be interesting with the lobster.

You can choose the price and amount of flavor you desire, or invite a few friends over for a tasting, and make up your own mind. There are some wine and food combos that will let you off easy-lobster is never one of them.

About Layne Witherell

I have been a wine professional for 30 years, engaged in retail buying, wholesale, importing, winery management, wine education, a talk show host, wine list author, wine columnist and author of a book : Wine Maniacs: Life in the Wine Biz.

Post navigation

Layne Witherell

I have been a wine professional for 30 years, engaged in retail buying, wholesale, importing, winery management, wine education, a talk show host, wine list author, wine columnist and author of a book : Wine Maniacs: Life in the Wine Biz.